Tropical Storm Sara (2024)
Tropical Storm Sara was a strong tropical storm that caused widespread destruction and loss of life in the Caribbean in early November 2024. The eighteenth named storm of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, Sara developed on November 7 from a broad area of low pressure that had formed a few days earlier in the southwestern Caribbean Sea. Moving northeastward, Sara became a tropical storm early on November 8 and continued to intensify amid favorable environmental conditions. Early on November 9, Sara reached its peak intensity with maximum sustained winds of 65 mph (100 km/h). The storm brushed Haiti's Tiburon Peninsula later that day before making landfall in Maisí, Cuba at 22:00 UTC. Accelerating rapidly northeastward into the North Atlantic, Sara began to weaken and lose its tropical characteristics. Late on November 11, Sara became a post-tropical cyclone while well off the North Carolina coast. The extratropical remnant of Sara was then absorbed by a larger system over Atlantic Canada on November 12. Although a relatively weak system, Sara dropped copious amounts of rainfall over the Greater Antilles, resulting in widespread flooding and mudslides. In Jamiaca, flooding caused by the storm resulted in eight fatalities and $60 million in damages. The most severe effects from the tropical storm occured in Haiti, where flooding and mudslides caused by torrential rainfall from the storm's outer rainbands resulted in 192 fatalities and $320 million in damages. In the Dominican Republic, flooding caused $20 million in damages and three fatalities. Damages in Cuba included six fatalities and $80 million in damages, while effects elsewhere were relatively minor. Meteorological history On November 3, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) noted the potential for an area of low pressure to form in the southwestern Caribbean Sea within the next day or so. On the following day, a broad area of low pressure developed 50 miles north of Panama. The low gradually organized over the next few days while moving very slowly northward, with a surface circulation developing in association with the low on November 6. By 06:00 UTC on November 7, the system's circulation had become sufficiently organized to classify the system as Tropical Depression Nineteen. The newly-developed depression continued to organize, strengthening into Tropical Storm Sara at 00:00 UTC the following day. Although environmental conditions favored further intensification into a hurricane, reflected in the National Hurricane Center's initial forecasts, Sara struggled to quickly intensify, possibly due to its broad structure. However, the cyclone did strengthen further as it approached the Greater Antilles, reaching its peak intensity as a strong tropical storm with maximum sustained winds of 65 mph (100 km/h) and a minimum central pressure of 991 mbar (29.26 inHg) at 06:00 UTC on November 9. The slow-moving cyclone brushed the Tiburon Peninsula before making landfall in Maisí, in the Guantánamo Province of Cuba at 22:00 UTC that day. After making landfall in Cuba, Sara skirted the Turks and Caicos and Bahamian Islands as it gradually began to weaken. A cold front began to encroach the system from the west, causing Sara to accelerate rapidly north-northeastward into the cold North Atlantic. Throughout the evening of November 10, the circulation of Sara grew larger and became more elongated as it interacted with the frontal system. Now moving at over 50 miles per hour (85 km/h), a weakening Sara became a storm-force extratropical cyclone at 12:00 UTC on November 11 while a few hundred miles off the Delmarva Peninsula. The low continued northward, crossing Nova Scotia before being absorbed by a larger system over Labrador early on November 12. Preparations and impact Upon the formation of Tropical Depression Nineteen on November 7, the Government of Jamaica issued a tropical storm watch for the island, which was later replaced by a tropical storm warning as the depression strengthened into Tropical Storm Sara at 00:00 UTC the following day. Simultaneously, the Government of Cuba issued a tropical storm warning and a hurricane watch for that country, with Haiti and the Dominican Republic following suit hours later. On November 9, the Government of the Bahamas issued a tropical storm warning for the Turks and Caicos Islands and southeastern Bahamas. All watches and warnings were discontinued by November 10 as Sara accelerated northward away from land. Despite the damages and deaths caused by the storm, particularly in Haiti, the name Sara was not retired, and remains on the World Meteorological Organization's rotating lists of tropical cyclone names for use in the North Atlantic. See also * Other tropical cyclones named Sara * Tropical Storm Gilda (1973) – Strong tropical storm which took a similar, albeit more westward track * Hurricane Noel (2007) – Category 1 hurricane which affected the same areas with disastrous flooding Category:Atlantic hurricanes (Cooper) Category:Deadly storms